What Are the Options for Printed Books?
One important aspect of publishing a book is the format: paperback versus hardcover, and size (known as trim size).
While publishers make this decision for authors based largely on potential revenue, other factors come into play, such as the expectations of the target reader audience: the type of physical book they expect to see in that particular discipline or genre.
Self-publishing authors (SPAs) need to weigh the same factors: It becomes one of the design decisions that must be made.
There are many different options for printing, in terms of the format and the type of binding.
All of these different options vary in cost and which of these options is the best choice depends largely on 1) the target audience and 2) the intended end-user experience.
Let’s look at a few of these options.
Paperback:
These are the most ubiquitous, for good reason. They’re the least expensive to produce and are the easiest (and cheapest) to ship and transport (because they’re light in weight). For most purposes paperbacks are the go-to format. At Virtus, a 6 × 9 inch paperback is our default format.
If the target audience is simply the casual reader, a paperback is likely the way to go. These days the majority of SPA books are printed digitally, which can be done quickly and relatively inexpensively. The overall quality has improved over the past few years.
Paperbacks can use either adhesive binding, or flexibinding, which are defined in our Publishing Glossary as follows:
adhesive binding
In printing, a method of binding that employs glue instead of stitching to hold the pages or signatures together and is widely used for journals and paperback books. Three types of adhesive binding are currently used: perfect binding, notch binding, and burst binding. (From The Chicago Manual of Style, 16e; edited.) (Contrast case binding, flexibinding, notch binding.)
flexibinding
In printing, a method of binding in which the pages or signatures are sewn together and the lightweight cover (sometimes with flaps) is then affixed, as in adhesive binding. The result is a publication that is lighter and less bulky than a casebound book but sturdier and more flexible than an adhesive-bound paperback. (From The Chicago Manual of Style, 16e; edited.) (Contrast adhesive binding, case binding, notch binding.)
Casebound: For a more scholarly look and feel, or for a book that is intended to be kept and referred to over the long term, a casebound (or hardcover) may be preferred. There are a different variants in terms of how casebound books are manufactured.
From our Publishing Glossary:
case binding
In printing, a method of encasing a book in a rigid cover, or case. The gathered signatures can be Smyth sewn or side sewn together or adhesive-bound; endpapers are glued to the first and last signatures; a hinge of heavy gauze (the super) is glued to the spine of the sewn signatures; and the case is secured to the book by being glued to the flaps of the super and to both endpapers. (From The Chicago Manual of Style, 16e; edited.) (Contrast adhesive binding, flexibinding, notch binding.)
The most expensive option is Smyth sew, which has the red and yellow cloth. Note that book also has an outer paper jacket.
notch binding
In printing, a type of adhesive binding in which the untrimmed spine is notched and force-fed with glue. (From The Chicago Manual of Style, 16e; edited.) (Contrast adhesive binding, case binding, flexibinding.)
Spiral: Spiral-bound books are a specialty type of manufacturing. These can be expensive and are usually reserved for books such as instruction manuals, teacher’s guides, and cookbooks. The primary advantage of spiral-bound books (and the only reason for going that route) is when the book is meant to lay flat when using it.
Spiral can be a great choice for some books, but the manufacturing cost can be high.
At Virtus, we can help authors make the right decision regarding the preferred format for their book.
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